


That Christmas of 1914

by Birchen



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Christmas Truce of 1914, Light-Hearted, M/M, My First AO3 Post, Slash, Soldiers, World War I
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 19:31:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13817931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birchen/pseuds/Birchen
Summary: “I wouldn't have missed that unique and weird Christmas Day for anything. I spotted a German officer, some sort of lieutenant I should think, and being a bit of a collector, I intimated to him that I had taken a fancy to some of his buttons. I brought out my wire clippers and, with a few deft snips, removed a couple of his buttons and put them in my pocket. I then gave him two of mine in exchange..."A brief story about what could have happened, if Arthur Kirkland had joined the army during the World War 1 and had met Gilbert during the so called "Christmas Truce of 1914". Two lonely men, two sides of the war, and one night full of hope, solidarity and... rapprochement.





	That Christmas of 1914

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> I hope you'll like this story about our beloved English and Prussian soldiers as much as I enjoyed writing it~
> 
> Please note, that English is not my native language!
> 
> This is also not my first fanfic, I've actually written several of them and this is quite old, but it's the first one that I translated into English from Czech so far and my first fic here on AO3. (I chose this story because I wanted to publish here finally and this was the shortest I've found :D) So please feel free to any point out anything wrong in grammar, unnatural phrases, or anything related with the story and plot itself. Since I have no Beta yet, that would be really helpfull~

_“I wouldn't have missed that unique and weird Christmas Day for anything. I spotted a German officer, some sort of lieutenant I should think, and being a bit of a collector, I intimated to him that I had taken a fancy to some of his buttons. I brought out my wire clippers and, with a few deft snips, removed a couple of his buttons and put them in my pocket. I then gave him two of mine in exchange..."_

_\- Found in a letter from an unknown soldier during the Great War_  
  
_December 25, 1914._  
That day was one of the coldest days the winter had brought that year. The half-frozen British soldiers were squatting in trenches in the middle of a cornfield near a tiny Belgian village, and no sooner than the first snowflakes appeared flying in the crisp air and falling down, kissing their cold helmets and similarly cold palms of their hands, had they bitterly realized it was Christmas.  
  
“At least the snow's falling and not bullets…” thought one of them silently. His name was Arthur and the main difference between him and the rest of his fellows was, that it wasn’t the sincere desire to serve his country that brought him to fight on the continent. Unfortunately, the reason why he joined the army was much simpler and far less heroic than that.   
  
It was an ordinary boyish desire to rebel against the world. As well as many of his young peers he thought of enlisting the army as about a simple way how to help himself to prove his strength, manliness and bravery. And he was also tired of being teased and tyrannized by his older brothers, who apparently seemed like they had never lacked any of these qualities. He was so sure that he thought it'll only take a few weeks, months, if necessary, for the Great Britain to win the war. Which meant that he, the puny young Arthur, black sheep of the family, will come back home with glory bursting from his chest while laughing into his brothers' confused faces. Little did he know how wrong, so wrong he was...   
  
Now, all he cared about was the small warmth of a stolen cigarette, an old, moldy bread, and also the riffle that kept him alive throughout the day. The life in the trenches was tough and cruel, and so he slowly got used to the idea of maybe never returning home again.

One snowflake was falling after another, when, suddenly, a strange thing happened. It was a rather odd sound resonating in the cold air. And to make the situation even more extraordinary, the sound was coming right out of the German side of the field. It was almost like the whole army was singing, like the carols were sung by thousands of men in the trenches. Yes, indeed. They were Christmas carols. And what a merry and joyful songs! Soon after the songs have started, the heads of the German soldiers could be seen as they were coming out of their stances. Arthur became attentive and obviously suspicious so he held his weapon tight and prepared to shoot first at any given moment. But then he realized the Germans had no guns in their hands and they were just smiling and waving at them. It turned out they claimed that they only wanted the British to join them in a brief, exceptional truce. And the reason for that truce seemed quite ridiculous and trap-like but at the same time it gently stroked the poor souls of the exhausted soldiers - because it was _Christmas_ , that was the simple, human reason.

So when the both sides decided on the truce, it didn't take long till the soldiers started to wish each other a "merry Christmas" in both languages and some of them even built snowmen, had snowball fights  or played soccer with an improvised ball of leather and cloth. Some soldiers took advantage of the truce by taking care of the wounded and burying the dead. Sure, it was certainly a nice gesture, but a sentimental one, thought Arthur _. Oh yes, it is fucking Christmas, I see. But why all the fuss, is that necessary? I bet it's just a matter of time when we'll all start shooting a-!_

Suddenly, his track of thoughts was interrupted by a well-aimed thump into the back of his head. No, luckily it wasn't a bullet. It seemed more like someone have hit his head by a snowball. Arthur frowned while he tried to get rid of the annoying, freezing snow behind the collar of his uniform and looked around to find the culprit. And he revealed himself quickly as he was laughing loudly and pointing at his victim.

He was wearing a German uniform. _Of course he was!_

"Well, well, well... A truce was announced, wasn't it? So why are you making such sour face, Englishman!"

Arthur observed him closely. The man with a penetrating laughter was probably the same age as he was. But despite being relatively young, his hair was all gray and his eyes were dark and somewhat mesmeric. _Don't get too distracted._ He thought to himself. _He's your enemy after all!_

"A truce or not, I'm not keen on follies. “claimed Arthur coldly.

The soldier gave him an astonished look. "Your German skills are pretty neat for a _tea man_."

If Arthur had said something similar, it would've come out as a sarcastic comment. But the way the soldier said it revealed that he had probably meant it sincerely. Still, his cheekiness drove Arthur mad.

"Well thank you, _cabbage-head_. I'm quite flattered. But there's even more I can do!" And so he quickly bowed down to grab snow and threw it on the soldier with a triumphant long-live-the-Queen scream.

“Could you please remind me who just said he wasn't “keen on follies”?” laughed the man in the German uniform as he prepared himself for revenge. The two soldiers then continued to fight (both with snow and words) until they, pleased and exhausted, hit the ground near some trees and bushes which bounded the fields. From a far they heard songs and a hilarious bustle of the “Christmas truce” festivity.

“But seriously... _Arthur_ , was it? Where'd you learn such good German?” asked Gilbert curiously. Along with the fact what the name of the soldier was, Arthur had also found out that the other soldier was a skilled swordsman. But that was absolutely useless in the trench warfare, down on his luck. Oh yes, and he also enounced himself as a “proud Prussian man”.

Arthur smiled. “I am fortunate enough to say I come from a quite wealthy family of a respectable   owner of a sweet pastry factory in London, scones, to be precise. So therefore, since my youth, I've been blessed with the best education my parents could afford. Firstly, they taught me French. But French, regardless its beauty, was only a tongue of status and prestige for me. In contrast to German, which have always attracted me through its literature, such as the works by Goethe and Schiller. Speaking of which, oh, how I miss the warm tea with milk and a good book!”

Gilbert thoughtfully nodded. “Well, reading ain't really my thing. I always rather take part in a good combat instead _reading_ about it. But what _I_ think I miss the most here in the war, is a nice skirt, if you know what I mean!” And as he said that, he winked and licked his lips to make it even more obvious.

His rude and certainly not gentleman-like expression of being starved in an erotic way did surprise Arthur, but dang it! He simply couldn't disagree with Gilbert.

“You’re right! Stupid books and tea, no use of them in the trenches...” said Arthur in endorsement.

Gilbert groaned. “I'd sell my soul to the Devil for a pair of warm woman’s hands... Or just, you know, _hands_ , if the situation is desperate.”

Arthur looked at him with confused eyes. “What exactly do you mean by “ _just hands_ ”?”

“Well, you know how the things are, right? A cold wind, two lonely troops...a seething desire...” he came a bit closer to the British soldier, “...alone in the woods...”

“E-excuse me?”

“Ah come on, don’t you tell me that our encounter was just a coincidence! You’re a handsome man and I’m pretty sure I ain’t looking that bad either. Maybe we could… help each other?”

Arthur was tongue-tied. It would be lovely to somehow escape the cold and horrors of the war, even for just a short time. Not to mention the burning tension in his lower parts that was growing more and more intense every day. But with a _man_? He had seen all sorts of desperate behavior between frustrated soldiers, but simply couldn’t imagine himself in their place. Even when  considering that Gilbert was definitely charming both for ladies _and_ men, he still just…

“Don’t you like me? I thought you did. You know, no one have ever refused my charm before.”

_Great, just great! He must’ve seen him blushing back then when they met…_

“Alright” said Arthur simply. “But only because we’re both healthy but desperate soldiers, that need to satisfy their needs, nothing more! I’m not a pervert, you know.”

“I knew you won’t be able to resist my awesomeness.” smiled Gilbert complacently. “Let’s be quick, before somebody sees us.”

Arthur agreed, took his hand and they sneaked into the spinney.

“Wait! Who is going to be…you know, the woman.” whispered Arthur nervously. They knew they had to be quick and weren’t sure whether there will be enough time for both of them to disburden themselves.

“Let’s flip a coin!” Gilbert proposed. And Arthur was not against it. It was fair, even if he was a bit disappointed after he has lost.

Now he had to lean on the nearest tree and let Gilbert’s warm hands to undress him properly. Although the most of his uniform was left on him because of the cold – it was December, after all.

He had been missing the touch of someone for so long… Despite his though looks, Gilbert was, in fact, quite gentle to him and he took his time, but when he knew the Englishman was prepared, he covered his mouth and soon the soldier could feel him thrusting deep inside of him.

Arthur didn’t feel comfortable being “the woman”. He had to clench his teeth every time the Prussian moved. But after a while he dared to start helping himself a bit and the interplay of his own effort and the soldier behind him became more and more pleasant, as he slowly started to enjoy it.

_Just like that, ah!_

Was it just a thought or did he scream?

_Please, Gilbert… Y-yes… Oh please yes, I… I’m going to …_

Well, _never mind_.

Sadly, the war didn’t end that year, nor did the year after. The truce was soon over and the soldiers that have participated in the so-called “Christmas truce” were told to forget about it and punished by sending away to other parts of the front by the raging generals. But none of them was able to forget about that day.

Aand two of them… let's say, that they had a bit more special reason not to forget that the others.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for taking your time to read this little story of mine! 
> 
> I would be glad for any comments, even the critical ones, because they are a great way for me to improve my writing and English skills. (And we all know how the hearts of us writers love feedback~)
> 
> your Birchen ~


End file.
